CavALMar - Almada's seahorses

The CavALMar project is a partnership between Câmara Municipal de Almada and MARE, which focuses on the study of biodiversity along the riverside coast of Almada council, and in particular the seahorse populations that inhabit this area. The study associated with the project began in the summer of 2022 and ended at the end of 2023. During this period, 13 sites were visited, from Cova do Vapor to Alfeite, 9 of which had seahorses.

There are only two species of seahorses in mainland Portugal: the common seahorse(Hippocampus hippocampus) and the long-nosed seahorse(Hippocampus guttulatus), both of which are found on the Almada waterfront.

During the course of the study, 29 long-nosed seahorses, 7 common seahorses and 6 seahorses of the species Syngnathus acuswere observed . "It should be noted that these figures are high for these species, as they are rare, difficult to detect, not very mobile and occur occasionally in very restricted areas," told Gonçalo Silva, project coordinator and MARE researcher, to Público newspaper.

In addition to these figures, the researcher was also surprised by the "habitat" where these animals were found: "supermarket trolleys, fishing nets, creels, nylon thread, hooks, sinkers, plastic and glass bottles, tires, styrofoam, cables, hook structures, plastic bags, buckets, cans, gloves, masks, a huge mountain of oyster shells, among many other items," said Gonçalo Silva in his opinion piece for Intelcities. In addition to garbage, these populations are also subject to other threats such as illegal and bycatch fishing, pollution, underwater noise and habitat destruction.

The need to protect these populations has arisen. "Seahorses are charismatic species that meet with a consensus on the need for their preservation, which is why they are considered flagship species," explains Gonçalo Silva. "By protecting these species and their habitat, we are also benefiting many others. In fact, seahorses themselves are an opportunity not only to promote environmental rehabilitation, but also urban and social rehabilitation. It is through flagship species like seahorses that we can create and strengthen bonds of affection between people and the aquatic environment, motivating them to preserve it."

It was in this context that the conference "Seahorses of Almada: a unique heritage to conserve" was held in Almada on April 10. Accompanied by Sylvie Dias' underwater photography exhibition, the conference offered the chance to learn a little more about these animals, contributing to their conservation by opening up a space for reflection on the management and preservation of the ecological value existing in this riverside territory. This event was attended by MARE researchers Gonçalo Silva, Manuel Eduardo dos Santos, Miguel Correia and Ricardo Silva.

Despite this, researcher Gonçalo Silva believes that there is still a lot to be done, and that investment should be made in the conservation of these animals, which involves involving the community and local authorities in the project. "We'd love this [seahorse] population to be a source of local and national pride," concludes the researcher.

To access the article in the Público newspaper, click HERE

To read the opinion article by researcher Gonçalo Silva, click HERE

The underwater photographs were taken by Sylvie Dias and Mário Rolim